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McCarthy's Musings: A Brief Dispatch
Kyle McCarthy dishes out a bite-sized morsel of morning Musings on Benny Feilhaber's arrival before closing out the day with analysis from the United States – Honduras Gold Cup tilt tonight in Washington, D.C.
Jul 8, 2009 2:28:42 AM
By Kyle McCarthy
WASHINGTON – Consider this a two-part version of the Wednesday Musings.
Instead of one healthy helping on Wednesday morning, this briefer morning dispatch will be followed by an analysis piece after tonight's United States-Honduras CONCACAF Gold Cup tilt at R.F.K. Stadium.
In that newly forged spirit of brevity, I'll skip the full-fledged preview (and refer you to Noah Davis' piece if you need a deeper fix) and make just one point instead.
While the United States could have named a stronger roster for the tournament, it made at least one move to bolster it prior to the most difficult game in the group stages.
U.S. national team head coach Bob Bradley asked Benny Feilhaber into the squad ahead of this game. Bradley didn't have to call Feilhaber into the squad considering there were already 22 players in camp (third goalkeeper Jon Busch will remain with Chicago unless needed), but opted to do so to increase his choices in the middle of the park prior to this contest.
“It gives us a little bit of cover in the midfield,” Bradley said. “After the Confederations Cup, he needed just a little bit of time. Like all of these guys, we have to balance our needs with the needs of their clubs and the ability for the player to get back to his club at a good time, so he can earn playing time and continue to move forward. There are a lot of different factors with all of these decisions.”
If the decision works out like Bradley hopes it will, the Americans will ensure themselves a far safer route towards Gold Cup glory by grabbing top spot in Group B with victory tonight.
Around the League
- “Obviously, the emotions after a game like that and a decision like that are high,” Bradley said when briefly addressing the three-match suspension handed down to Michael Bradley after he confronted an official after the win over Spain in the Confederations Cup. The Honduras match is the final match of that ban, with a further one-match suspension (plus any additional discipline) hanging over the U.S. midfielder should he stray during the next six months. “This is typically the way FIFA handles those things.”
- Bradley and most of the U.S. players address Oguchi Onyewu's surprising move to AC Milan yesterday. Those quotes are collected in a story you can find here.
- “I think he's matured as both a player and a person,” Bradley said about United midfielder Santino Quaranta yesterday. “You can tell he's very excited to have this opportunity at this time. I think we all feel like he's shown well for D.C. in the second half of last season and the first part of this year.”
- “I was really excited to see him start,” Real Salt Lake midfielder Kyle Beckerman said about Haiti midfielder and RSL rookie Jean Alexandre. “I didn't know whether he was going to start or not. We actually flew from Seattle with the Haiti team, so I got to chat with him. It seems like he's doing really well.”
- In more pressing news from the Wasatch Mountains, Yura Movsisyan's imminent move to Danish club Randers FC hangs in the balance over the next few days. Movsisyan has already signed a three-year deal to join Randers in January, but the two clubs are locked in negotiations to determine whether RSL is willing to sell Movsisyan now, Real Salt Lake general manager Garth Lagerwey said in a phone interview yesterday. As of yesterday afternoon, the two sides haven't reached an agreement or a standoff, though Lagerwey said he was hopeful that he'd know more in the next couple of days. Either way, Lagerwey insisted, is a win-win for RSL because they'll either have Movsisyan for the rest of the season or enough leeway to go out and find a replacement.
- Three of the four slots in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinals will be filled by MLS teams. Houston, Seattle and D.C. United all prevailed in Open Cup quarterfinals ties on Tuesday night. USL First Division side (and 1999 Open Cup winners) Rochester will join them in the final four. The Rhinos will visit United and Houston will travel to Seattle for the semifinals slated for July 21.
- Full U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal results: Houston trampled Charleston 4-0 at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, S.C.; D.C. United ousted Harrisburg 2-1 at the Maryland SoccerPlex in suburban D.C.; Seattle used an 89th minute Sebastien Le Toux penalty kick to defeat Kansas City 1-0 at StarFire Sports Complex in suburban Seattle; and Rochester beat Wilmington 2-1 at Marina Auto Stadium in Rochester, N.Y.
Kyle McCarthy writes the Monday MLS Breakdown and frequently writes opinion pieces during the week for Goal.com. He also covers the New England Revolution for the Boston Herald and MLSnet.com. Contact him with your questions or comments at kyle.mccarthy@goal.com and follow him on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/kylejmccarthy
For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com's MLS page.
WASHINGTON – Consider this a two-part version of the Wednesday Musings.
Instead of one healthy helping on Wednesday morning, this briefer morning dispatch will be followed by an analysis piece after tonight's United States-Honduras CONCACAF Gold Cup tilt at R.F.K. Stadium.
In that newly forged spirit of brevity, I'll skip the full-fledged preview (and refer you to Noah Davis' piece if you need a deeper fix) and make just one point instead.
While the United States could have named a stronger roster for the tournament, it made at least one move to bolster it prior to the most difficult game in the group stages.
U.S. national team head coach Bob Bradley asked Benny Feilhaber into the squad ahead of this game. Bradley didn't have to call Feilhaber into the squad considering there were already 22 players in camp (third goalkeeper Jon Busch will remain with Chicago unless needed), but opted to do so to increase his choices in the middle of the park prior to this contest.
“It gives us a little bit of cover in the midfield,” Bradley said. “After the Confederations Cup, he needed just a little bit of time. Like all of these guys, we have to balance our needs with the needs of their clubs and the ability for the player to get back to his club at a good time, so he can earn playing time and continue to move forward. There are a lot of different factors with all of these decisions.”
If the decision works out like Bradley hopes it will, the Americans will ensure themselves a far safer route towards Gold Cup glory by grabbing top spot in Group B with victory tonight.
Around the League
- “Obviously, the emotions after a game like that and a decision like that are high,” Bradley said when briefly addressing the three-match suspension handed down to Michael Bradley after he confronted an official after the win over Spain in the Confederations Cup. The Honduras match is the final match of that ban, with a further one-match suspension (plus any additional discipline) hanging over the U.S. midfielder should he stray during the next six months. “This is typically the way FIFA handles those things.”
- Bradley and most of the U.S. players address Oguchi Onyewu's surprising move to AC Milan yesterday. Those quotes are collected in a story you can find here.
- “I think he's matured as both a player and a person,” Bradley said about United midfielder Santino Quaranta yesterday. “You can tell he's very excited to have this opportunity at this time. I think we all feel like he's shown well for D.C. in the second half of last season and the first part of this year.”
- “I was really excited to see him start,” Real Salt Lake midfielder Kyle Beckerman said about Haiti midfielder and RSL rookie Jean Alexandre. “I didn't know whether he was going to start or not. We actually flew from Seattle with the Haiti team, so I got to chat with him. It seems like he's doing really well.”
- In more pressing news from the Wasatch Mountains, Yura Movsisyan's imminent move to Danish club Randers FC hangs in the balance over the next few days. Movsisyan has already signed a three-year deal to join Randers in January, but the two clubs are locked in negotiations to determine whether RSL is willing to sell Movsisyan now, Real Salt Lake general manager Garth Lagerwey said in a phone interview yesterday. As of yesterday afternoon, the two sides haven't reached an agreement or a standoff, though Lagerwey said he was hopeful that he'd know more in the next couple of days. Either way, Lagerwey insisted, is a win-win for RSL because they'll either have Movsisyan for the rest of the season or enough leeway to go out and find a replacement.
- Three of the four slots in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinals will be filled by MLS teams. Houston, Seattle and D.C. United all prevailed in Open Cup quarterfinals ties on Tuesday night. USL First Division side (and 1999 Open Cup winners) Rochester will join them in the final four. The Rhinos will visit United and Houston will travel to Seattle for the semifinals slated for July 21.
- Full U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal results: Houston trampled Charleston 4-0 at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, S.C.; D.C. United ousted Harrisburg 2-1 at the Maryland SoccerPlex in suburban D.C.; Seattle used an 89th minute Sebastien Le Toux penalty kick to defeat Kansas City 1-0 at StarFire Sports Complex in suburban Seattle; and Rochester beat Wilmington 2-1 at Marina Auto Stadium in Rochester, N.Y.
Kyle McCarthy writes the Monday MLS Breakdown and frequently writes opinion pieces during the week for Goal.com. He also covers the New England Revolution for the Boston Herald and MLSnet.com. Contact him with your questions or comments at kyle.mccarthy@goal.com and follow him on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/kylejmccarthy
For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com's MLS page.
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